Alleman, IA – The ADM Tigers traveled to the North Polk Comets for the substate semis on Tuesday afternoon. The game was postponed from Monday night but the rain followed the next day and had a big impact on the game. Grant Rhycnovsky started on the mound and cruised through the first few innings. The Tigers opened the scoring in the top of the third when both Stine-Smith and Rhycnovsky doubled. Grant Jansen hit a big chopper up the middle that brought Stine-Smith to the plate. Rhycnovsky then came home to score on a throw from the catcher Zoske that hit the bat of Ausdemore and scooted into shallow left field.

The Tigers then built on the lead when Jansen and Stine-Smith walked to start the fifth. The starting pitcher for the Comets had been relieved and their best closer came into the game. After standing in the on-deck circle watching the long at-bat, senior Grant Rychnovsky came to the plate and mashed the first pitch he saw over the wall in left-center field. It was a three-run blast that extended the lead and made it a 5-0 Tiger lead. The Comets would look to strike back in the bottom of that inning when the rain began to fall.

A couple of singles on pitches that caught way too much of the plate meant immediate trouble for the pitcher Rychnovsky. He balked to move the runners over and then balked again when he didn’t come set. The next hitter would ground out but a run came into score on the play making it 5-2. That would be the score going into the bottom of the seventh inning.

It was the bottom of the order that did it for the Comets and as Rychnovsky couldn’t get an out. Two runs had come home to score on two singles and a double into left-center field. Then Jack Spieker came up for the Comets looking to bunt over the tying run into scoring position. He layed down a good one down the third base line but when Rychnovsky went to pick it up his throw went wild down the first base line. The tying run scored and the winning run was standing on second base with the top of the order coming up. The rain that had been fallling for the past few innings had made the infield grass just slick enough to cause an error.

Jason Book made the pitching change going to Reed Ausdemore. Grant Ryhchnovsky pitched six really good innings of baseball and was part of four of the five runs that the Tigers would score including the three-run homer. With Ausdemore now pitching Drew Owen hit a line drive into center field that was caught on his shoelaces. Now Reggie Postel the shortstop would come to the plate.

He saw one pitch and lined it into left-center field. Gerleman gave chase but he never had a chance. Just like that the game was over.The Tigers season comes to a devastating end on a walkoff RBI single that marked six unanswered runs for the Comets.

North-Polk will survive to face off against Algona tonight for a chance to go to state.